Corel Launches Snapfire Imaging Software
Made available Tuesday as a free download, Snapfire includes image organization and sharing capabilities. Until now, the platform-in-the-making was code-named Alta.
"You can create images, put them in slide shows, share with friends and do some simple image editing," said Shawn Cadeau, global vice president of marketing at Corel, Ottawa.
Going forward, "there will be additional modules and components -- some from us and some from partners -- like advanced image editing," Cadeau said. "You can upload your images to Webshots.com and store them on the local PC, but when you want to post, [you can] automatically upload and use [Webshots.com's] printing services. We will also partner with other companies, local stores, so people can print out images locally."
Corel also announced Snapfire Plus, which includes all of the image organization and sharing options of Snapfire as well as more advanced photo- and video-editing tools. Snapfire Plus carries a list price of $39.99. Corel is offering a free trial of the software.
The combination of local processing power and storage, along with the software-as-a-service model, builds on Corel's roots in graphics and imaging software.
Corel built its franchise on the popular CorelDraw software and subsequently acquired the popular WordPerfect word processing, Quattro Pro spreadsheet and Paradox database products from Novell in 1995. However, the resulting Corel WordPerfect Office suite has since struggled to gain market share against the Microsoft Office juggernaut.
Still, Corel has a small but loyal customer base in the desktop productivity applications market with Corel WordPerfect Office, solution providers said.
"Just as Apple has its customer base, Corel also has a very loyal following, and they're really great working with the reseller community," said Karen Van Ert, director of marketing at Atomicpark.com, a VAR in Milwaukee.
The WordPerfect Office product has a solid toehold in verticals such as law, government and education, according to solution providers.
"Corel WordPerfect Office still has a huge niche in the legal market," said Jay Tipton, president of Technology Specialists, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based VAR specializing in the legal and health-care markets. "Some attorneys will not budge off Corel at all. ... It's like you're asking for their firstborn child."
Corel added to its product lineup in late August with the acquisition of InterVideo, a maker of multimedia DVD software. The $196 million deal, announced Aug. 28, is slated to be finalized in the fourth quarter.
InterVideo "broadens and expands our portfolio in digital imaging and DVD authoring," Cadeau told CRN. Graphics designers and professionals already use CorelDraw and CorelPaint to create and tweak images and graphics, and Corel's PaintShop Pro product is suited for image editing, organization and sharing.
"What InterVideo adds is video editing, not just images and organization but editing and creating video as well. We can do video playback, and there are 175 million installations of InterVideo with the WinDVD product," Cadeau said.
One issue for Corel will be that some of the upcoming Vista Windows client SKUs--notably the Home Premium and Ultimate editions, will include Microsoft's home-grown DVD software.
"For Windows Vista Home Basic, Business and Enterprise, OEMS have the option to purchase the DVD playback codec from Microsoft to enable DVD playback via Windows Media Player 11. They also have the option of adding third-party DVD playback capabilities. Or they can do both," a Microsoft spokesman said.
"For retail versions of Windows Vista Home Basic and Business, customers will be prompted to choose among a few options (which are still being determined) when attempting to playback a DVD," he added.
InterVideo's WinDVD competes with CyberLink PowerDVD and Sonic's MyDVD products. Fremont, Calif.-based InterVideo also is a power in the Japanese and Asian markets with its ULead video editing product.
Cadeau said Corel solution providers, including the 4,000 or so partners in its Insight partner program, now will have new tools to add value to and sell.
WinDVD and other InterVideo products often are bundled with PCs, and Corel sees more opportunities in that realm as well. Corel WordPerfect Office comes with select PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Lenovo.
Corel also positions WordPerfect Office as a lower-cost alternative for system builders that can't make money bundling Microsoft Office with their custom-built PCs.
This story was updated Wednesday with more information on how DVD playback will be handled in upcoming Microsoft Windows Vista client releases.